by Sean Reiter
Styx and Chicago brought their co-headlining “The Windy Cities Tour“ to a packed Toyota Pavilion at Concord Friday night with a concert that leaned heavily on their catalogues of hits and had something for everyone who grew up in the 70s or 80s. Judging by the crowd scene, it appeared the majority of the crowd that filled in even the upper reaches of the lawn hit that decade demographic. For me, it was somehow the first time seeing either of these bands and while the vast majority of the members may have changed over the years, the songs still form a very large part of the soundtrack of my youth.
Chicago led off the night on a beautiful late summer evening – filling the stage with Toyota Pavilion stage with their 10-piece band and filling the air with the full sound of their horn section. Hearing a rock band with fully-spotlighted horns in a loud amphitheatre setting is rather unique these days and provided a welcome change to the usual guitar, bass, keys, drums configuration. The band is currently in their 59th consecutive year of touring with more than 100 million albums sold, Grammy awards and a 2016 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Trumpeter/vocalist and co-founder Lee Loughnane has incredibly been on board for all of them. Loughnane’s energy and stage presence was far from that of a weathered veteran of six decades of touring. Instead, he gushed with enthusiasm and appreciation throughout the night as his trumpet-playing showed no signs of slowing down.
After a roaring version of “Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?” Loughnane told the crowd “59 years. Who would have thought it? But, you aren’t getting tired of hearing them and we’re not getting tired of playing them. Let’s go back to the ’80s.” The band then delivered mega-hit”Hard Habit to Break” followed by “You’re the Inspiration.”
Chicago provided a nicely-paced 19 song set with some of the expected songs standing out. “Hard to Say I’m Sorry / Get Away” saw the audience raising their phones and lighters in celebration of a tune that I remember as one of the anthems of the Summer of 1982 – as it was released and also was given a spotlight by the movie “Summer Lovers”. Drummer Wally Reyes Jr and percussionist Ray Yslas did a version of drums that would make any Deadhead proud.
“Street Player” provided unique graphics of Chicago’s mob scene with keyboardist Justin Avery singing.”Saturday in the Park” had everyone in the crowd up dancing and singing. Throughout the night, the band’s most recent addition – vocalist Rudy Cardenas put a pop into many of the classics and also did a wonderful job of connecting with the crowd. His voice and manner were reminiscent of seeing a young Steve Perry performing live with Journey.
The encore of “Free” and then an incredible version of “25 or 6 to 4” served as a final demonstration of the lasting strength and importance of the band and their music. The members spread across the stage to take a triumphant bow to a roaring crowd in front of a redwood forest screen projection.
Styx took the final spot of the evening with a performance that also spotlighted their VERY Rock and Roll Hall of Fame catalogue (how are they not in?). Though the band traces its origins to TW4 in 1961 – two of the members of its most classic era remain in the touring band with guitarists James “JY” Young (1970) and vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw (1975) both now sporting 50 + years with the band. Lead Singer / Keyboardist Lawrence Gowan replaced Dennis DeYoung in 1999 and maintained much of the responsibility for injecting energy throughout the night.
The current lineup also includes drummer Todd Sucherman (1995), bassist Terry Gowan (Lawrence’s brother and member since 2024) and guitarist (and producer) Will Evankovich (2021). On Friday, they were also joined at the end of the set and through the encore by original founder and bass player Chuck Panozzo.
Friday’s set leaned rightfully heavy on the hits. Opening with a blistering “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” from 1977 and then 1975’s Lorelai before visiting the more contemporary 2025 “Build and Destroy.”
The first of their soft rock classics came next with 1973’s “Lady” which the band followed up with a very spirited “Too Much Time on My Hands”. “So nice to see you all,” Lawerence Gowan told the crowd. “It’s been a while. Some of you have grown up. We’re musicians so we never have to grow up.”
“Crystal Ball” started off with beautiful acoustic guitar work and vocals from Tommy Shaw before it rose up to a full band effort with Shaw grabbing an electric to unleash a sinister solo. “That song “Crystal Ball is having it’s 50th birthday this year!” Lawrence Gowan exclaimed. “I’m hard-pressed to think of another singer-songwriter who could have written that song originally and still sing it better than he didd 50 years ago.
Highlights from later in the 15-song set and encore included a beautiful and tender “The Best of Times” and a blasting “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” before founder Chuck Panozzo joined for “Come Sail Away” to close out the main set. Panozzo rejoined the band on stage for a huge encore of “Mr. Roboto” and “Renegade” to close out a magical evening that was equal parts top-notch performance and first-class nostalgia.
